Description
I am the second owner. I bought the car on 1st May 1974 from Bell & Colvill. So I have owned the car for over 51 years. The car was fully rebuilt in the 1990s by Dick Swindall and BSS (Europa Engineering) using a Spyder space frame chassis, Spyder rear suspension conversion, roll over bar and side intrusion members. P. R. M. Coachworks repaired the body where necessary, repainted it and applied new coach lines. The gearbox and transaxle were refurbished by Nicol Transmission.
The engine was built by John Smirthwaite in 2005, developing 150 bhp. It is a very tractable, powerful and smooth engine. Since the rebuild the car has done approximately 12, 000 road miles.
I have subsequently done most of the work on the car and kept a full record of the work done and receipts. Although a classic, for DVLA purposes, I have kept it MOTed. The car comes with its original handbook, service and rebuild record, workshop manual, tool kit, Lotus Classic Certificate of Vehicle Provenance, Club Lotus Valuation Certificate, and file of invoices and other documents. Club Lotus valued the car at £38, 000 in June 2023.
In 2022, James Martin of JayEmm Cars road tested this car; here is the link to the YouTube video. He praised the car highly but noted the standard gear change made it possible to accidentally downchange from third into reverse. I've since modified the linkage to prevent this.
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This road test has attracted over 750 comments reaffirming the appeal of the car. The car always attracts admiring attention particularly at car shows and enthusiasts who take photos of it as I drive on the road.
I am now too elderly to continue working on my much-loved Lotus Europa Special and driving it like I used to. So, I am offering this cherished and extremely competent car for sale to someone who has similar enthusiasm and capabilities who will ensure the car lives on for another era.
I will very reluctantly sell it for £35, 000.
